ERIK GRÖNWALL: 'I Really Wanted To Still Be In SKID ROW', But 'We Couldn't Find Common Ground'

In a new interview with Jorge Botas of Portugal's Metal Global, Swedish vocalist Erik Grönwall, who is promoting his upcoming solo album "Bad Bones", spoke about his decision to leave SKID ROW in March 2024 after a two-year stint as the band's frontman. Asked why he decided to go solo at this point in his career, Erik said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, first of all, I played with H.E.A.T, the Swedish band H.E.A.T, for 10 years. But then, after 10 years, I felt like it was time for me to do something else. I just wanted to explore what was out there. But then I got really sick. So I got leukemia — I had leukemia five years ago. And at that point, when I was at the hospital, I realized that the only thing I wanna do is get back on stage and sing for the rest of my life. And then the incredible thing happened that SKID ROW reached out to me and asked me to become the singer [of the band]. That's one of the bands I grew up listening to, so it was surreal — it was surreal."

Reflecting on his exit from SKID ROW more than two years ago, Erik said: "The reason why I decided to leave [the band] that was because I could feel that I still needed more time to really properly recover after all my treatments, and I felt like it became too much to be on the road as much as [the other members of SKID ROW] wanted. So my proposal was to do a little less touring, but we couldn't find common ground, and that's fine. That's totally fine. And then I started touring with [legendary German guitarist] Michael [Schenker], and then I guess some people ask, 'But why can you tour with Michael and not SKID ROW?' Well, because when I told Michael about my situation a year after, so I had a lot of time to really recover, but when I told Michael about my situation, he said, 'Don't worry. I'll just get a stand-in singer ready to fill in for you, if you feel like you have to sit one out,' which made me feel really comfortable about trying to tour again. So, yeah, I couldn't say no to that. Michael is very good at finding solutions, so I went for it. And I haven't left Michael. I mean, the door is always open for Michael to [reach out to me and ask me to play more shows with him]. It's just something I have to do for me, and I'm sure you understand. Because he's always been doing his own thing. So, it's all good. All doors are open. So, yeah, that's the answer."

Elaborating on why it was necessary for him to leave SKID ROW, Erik said: "For me, coming from that very strange place, having had that illness and everything that that comes with [it], it's not like you do chemo and you do a bone marrow transplant, and then you're fine. It takes a long time for the body to... I have a new immune system. I have a new blood type — all these things. I have to redo all the vaccinations. Being on a world tour while that is going on is hard. But the reason why I did it was because I really wanted it to work out. I really wanted to still be in SKID ROW. But for me — my necklace here says, 'Health always comes first.' And that's just the way it has to be — I mean, for everyone. But especially when I got that health scare, it's obviously more important for me than ever to really take care of myself. So that comes first."

With two sold-out hometown shows at Cirkus in Stockholm and a growing list of festival appearances across Scandinavia and the rest of Europe, Erik continues to build momentum leading up to the release of "Bad Bones" on May 22.

Erik auditioned for "Swedish Idol" back in 2009 by singing a cover of SKID ROW's "18 And Life".

SKID ROW's longtime friend Lzzy Hale (HALESTORM) handled lead vocals for the band's four concerts in late May 2024 and early June 2024, two months after Erik's exit from the group.

At the time of Grönwall's departure, SKID ROW members said in a statement that they were "proud" of what they had "created and accomplished with Erik" over the previous two years" and wished "nothing but the best to him and his health."

In January 2025, Erik told Finland's Chaoszine about his exit from SKID ROW: "Leaving the band was one of the toughest career decisions I ever had to make. I loved being in that band. It didn't hurt waking up being the lead singer of SKID ROW. But I would still be in the band if that was an option.

"I left to respect the person who went through the leukemia — I mean, the person at the hospital," he explained. "I promised myself that I would always put my health first. And when I felt like I couldn't do that being in the band, I just had to make that decision.

"I loved my time in the band. I had so much fun with the guys. We clicked right away, and I will always look back at that time with a smile, for sure. And I would have loved to stay in the band. But given the circumstances, we just couldn't find common ground in terms of how much we should tour."

Grönwall went on to clarify that he was always open to continuing with SKID ROW if an agreement had been reached regarding how much time to spend on the road.

"I'm not sure if it's been said in any interview, but, for me, it was never about not touring at all," he said. "I just wanted to have more time in between to recover. So, my suggestion was three weeks on the road, including traveling, and then one month off, three weeks on the road, including traveling, one month off, just to have that time in between. But they didn't find that feasible, and that's totally fine. I mean, SKID ROW has been doing this since before I was born. [Laughs] They have a recipe. I totally respect that they didn't find out feasible at all. But it was what I needed, and here we are."

Grönwall sang on four H.E.A.T studio albums — "Address The Nation" (2012),"Tearing Down The Walls" (2014),"Into The Great Unknown" (2017) and "H.E.A.T II" (2020).

More recently, Erik sang on two of Michael Schenker's albums, 2024's "My Years With UFO" and 2025's "Don't Sell Your Soul". He also toured Europe and Japan with the legendary German guitarist.

In late March 2022, SKID ROW released its first single with Grönwall, "The Gang's All Here". The song is the title track of the band's latest album, which arrived in October 2022 via earMUSIC.

SKID ROW played its first show with Grönwall on March 26, 2022 at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada as the support act on the rescheduled dates for SCORPIONS' "Sin City Nights" residency.

The English version of Grönwall's autobiography, "Power - Music, Death, Life", was made available in December 2024 via HarperCollins.

Grönwall lives in Knivsta, a city in Uppsala County in east central Sweden, with his wife and their son.